History Main / WoundedGazelleGambit

* ''ComicBook/StreetFigtherVsDarkstalkers'': Morrigan uses this tactic on a duo of archaeologists in Brazil, by taking the form of a female explorer that twisted her ankle and is completely helpless. As soon as she has one of the men in her grasp, she completely sucks him dry. The other guy attempts to save his friend, but Morrigan hits him against a wall before he can even attack her.

* ''ComicBook/SreetFigtherVsDarkstalkers'': Morrigan uses this tactic on a duo of archaeologists in Brazil, by taking the form of a female explorer that twisted her ankle and is completely helpless. As soon as she has one of the men in her grasp, she completely sucks him dry. The other guy attempts to save his friend, but Morrigan hits him against a wall before he can even attack her.

''ComicBook/SreetFigtherVsDarkstalkers'': Morrigan uses this tactic on a duo of archaeologists in Brazil, by taking the form of a female explorer that twisted her ankle and is completely helpless. As soon as she has one of the men in her grasp, she completely sucks him dry. The other guy attempts to save his friend, but Morrigan hits him against a wall before he can even attack her.

* In “Fanfic/TellingLiesNoMama”, Chloé explains that [[BitchInSheepsClothing Lila]] uses this as a tool to get everyone on her side, even when what she says doesn’t add up. At the start of the story, Lila tries to claim that Marinette attacked her, and everyone jumps to her defense, except for Alya, Nino, Adrien and Chloé. When Chloé presses the class if they really believe Marinette did it, they admit that they didn’t really believe Lila and only defended her because she seemed so vulnerable and sad and they didn’t want to seem like jerks.

* ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'': A demon possessing ComicBook/{{Luke Cage|HeroForHire}} pretends to flee, in order to get ComicBook/JessicaJones in closer. After a few seconds everyone figures out it's not her husband. Cue the enraged FlyingBrick.

* In a 40's ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' issue, a low-level crook fires a bullet through his own hat (which he's holding in his hand), while yelling "Drop it, Wayne!" He proceeds to put the hat back on and tosses the gun to Bruce Wayne, who catches it. The police barge in and see Bruce Wayne with a smoking gun in his hand, and a hole in a bystander's hat.

* Early in his villainy, ComicBook/{{Venom}} disguised himself as a guard passed out in his cell. The poor schmoe who found him could have just passed through the barrier separating him and Venom, but he was new and unwittingly let it down. Venom pounced and suffocated him to death before escaping.

* One interpretation of the infamously scary [[Wiki/SCPFoundation SCP-087]] (an infinte dark staircase where one can hear the cries of a girl, and no one who went far enough down has come up again) is that there is no girl at all, but a creature resembling a girl that uses this to lure in victims.

* ''ComicBook/SinCity'':
** This was how Ava manipulated Dwight into murdering her husband in the story "A Dame to Kill For."
** In "Daddy's Girl", a young woman, complaining of being abused by her father, convinces her boyfriend to kill him. [[spoiler:Except that the gun she gives him is loaded with duds, and he's been set up to get beaten to death by the dad. And he's not the first guy she's done this to. Why? Because her father gets off on this, and she's [[ParentalIncest daddy's girl.]]]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheWuzzles'': In ''Walt Disney Comics'' no. 512, Croc gains sympathy from Butterbear by pulling up a board and pretending to have been injured. It works on her account, although Bumblelion overhears his plan and makes sure his stay is not a pleasant one. His plot? [[spoiler:Well, his roof leaks and he was seeking shelter from a fruit salad storm. That's right, a fruit salad storm. Unconventional weather the land of Wuzz has, no?]]
* ''Jenifer''. In both the comic book and the ''Masters of Horror'' television adaptation, she takes this trope to a horrifying extreme. Suffice to say her hideous appearance is the ''least'' disturbing thing about her.

* ''Queen Bee'': When [[AlphaBitch Alexa]] garners sympathy for herself [[spoiler:by using her telekinetic powers to hit herself in the head with a lunch tray]] and blames Haley (who has the same powers as her) for it.
* After massacring a presidential candidate, his family, and ''an entire room'' of armed security, staffers, aides, and journalists during her "field test" for the Facility, ComicBook/{{X 23}}'s exit strategy was to masquerade as the badly wounded, sole-surviving victim of an attack she herself carried out. She successfully duped ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica''.
** For that matter, her ''entry'' was a variation of this: She masqueraded as a physically disabled child wearing leg braces and needing crutches to walk, made a scene in the lobby when a security guard tried to deny her request to meet Candidate Johnson, and played on her "disability" in order to gain access to him and carry out the attack.

* ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'': A demon possessing ComicBook/{{Luke Cage|HeroForHire}} pretends to flee, in order to get ComicBook/JessicaJones in closer. After a few seconds everyone figures out it's not her husband. Cue the enraged FlyingBrick.
* In ''[[ComicBook/TheMultiversity Mastermen #1]]'', [[spoiler:with help from Overman, the Human Bomb threw off Leatherwing and the rest of the New Reichsmen by pretending to be gravely injured by Leatherwing's interrogation, giving him the chance to wait to break free and then destroy the Eagle's Nest]].
* Used in the second arc of ''ComicBook/{{Copperhead}}'' by Zolo's gang. One flags down his police car to request aid for an injured man, but as soon as Boo approaches several guns are pulled on him.

* In ''ComicBook/HexWives'', Bradley pretends to be badly burned as part of a scheme by the Architects to dissuade the women from wanting to leave the cul-de-sac.
* A variation in ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad''. When she's hit in the face with a pie, Amanda Waller naturally assumes it's resident troublemaker Captain Boomerang. Just as Boomerang is showing up, he's hit by a pie and berates Waller for setting him up for this. Over the next twenty issues, every member of the Squad (and others) are hit by pies as well. Murph finally arranges video to show the culprit is...Boomerang. Knowing he'd be the first suspect, Boomerang had cunningly set up a "boomerang pie" to hit him right off to deflect suspicion.

* One ''Bo Nanas'' strip featured a woman asking the main character to hold her purse. Once he does so, she starts yelling, claiming that she's been purse-snatched. [[spoiler: It didn't work; the policeman nearby saw the whole thing, and apparently she's done this before.]]

* In ''Fanfic/EnemiesWithin'', Evil!Sayori cuts her cheek to incriminate [[VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub Yuri]] of attacking her.
* In ''Fanfic/IWontSay'' when [[Manga/DeathNote L catches Mello and Matt]] sneaking around his room Matt turns on the waterworks and tries to blame it all on [[NotMeThisTime Light]].
* ''Fanfic/TheImmortalGame'': [[spoiler:After [[EvilMatriarch Terra]] is stripped of her power and imprisoned by the Mane Cast, she eventually pretends to have an emotional breakdown in order to lure Fluttershy close enough to her cage that she can try and strangle her through the bars]].
* In ''Fanfic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40k'', when Gendo and SEELE finally realize that neither of them was behind Shinji's messianic rise in popularity and influence, they conclude that a third party is manipulating events. Gendo interrogates Shinji privately, hoping to learn who's behind it. Gendo is careful to avoid leaving any obvious bruises during the interrogation, and when physical pain proves ineffective, he starts threatening Shinji's friends. Shinji responds by savagely punching himself in the face over and over. Due to an old incident where Shinji provoked Gendo into striking him in public, combined with the public persona Shinji had cultivated, Gendo realizes there's nothing he can do to convince people of the truth.

* In the Franchise/SherlockHolmes fic ''Fanfic/TheGhostMap'', Holmes shoots himself in the shoulder to frame a SerialKiller[=/=]DeadlyDoctor and get him convicted in court.
* In ''[[FanFic/MonsterADeathNoteAU Monster]]'' a [[WomanScorned jealously scorned]] Misa calls the police on Kira's operation in the hopes of eliminating her competition and forcing Light to be "hers" again. When calling the police, Misa gives a great performance, tears and all, and downplays her own involvement claiming she was "so scared" of Kira.

* In ''Fanfic/ThoseWhoStandForNothingFallForAnything'' B locks himself and Light up in L's kitchen and begins beating himself up in an attempt to frame Light. Luckily L knows B and Light well enough to figure out what's going on.

* Shadowfax tries this to escape interrogation in [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/119688/1/you-obey/the-interrogation You Obey.]]
* Vivian pulls this trick on [[TheDragon Lyrius]] during the FinalBattle of ''[[Fanfic/YuGiOhTheThousandYearDoor Yu Gi Oh: The Thousand Year Door Redux]]''. When he's understandably upset at having fallen for such an old trick, she says she "had a good teacher". (Implying that she [[EvilMentor learned it from him.]])
* In ''Fanfic/ShadowchasersAscension'', [[spoiler:ShockJock Sarah Blaze uses a variation of this similar to Palpatine's in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars'', arranging for her own kidnapping and pretending to be a DamselInDistress so she won't be considered a suspect later when things get more serious. Unfortunately for her, [[TagAlongKid Karen]] picks up on a few interactions between her and the kidnapper that seem contradictory. When she interviews the kidnapper on her show, she acts like the two have never met; however, when she's actually kidnapped, she addresses him as if she's known him a long time. This eventually gets her found out, and ruins a big part of the villains' plans]].

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10733441/1/Another-Chance Another Chance]]'' ([[FandomSpecificPlot as well as many]] ''Manga/FairyTail'' [[FandomSpecificPlot fanfics like it]]), [[RonTheDeathEater Lisanna]], by using makeup, manages to fool most of the guild into thinking Lucy injured her, causing them to turn on and beat Lucy up. Only [[NiceGirl Wendy]], Juvia, the Exceeds and [[BloodKnight Gajeel, of all people]] refuse to take part in it, but only Makarov sees through Lisanna's deception by smelling her makeup (which the other Dragon Slayers should have been able to do), and after having Juvia use [[MakingASplash her magic to wash it off]], expels Lisanna from the guild.
* In ''Fanfic/PersonaEG'', [[spoiler:Sunset Shimmer uses this as one of her plans to humiliate Flash and anger Twilight. She breaks into the Applewood dorm one night in February and [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale rapes Flash]], then one month later claims that she is pregnant with Flash's child because he forced himself on her. Although she was attempting to get pregnant for real when she raped him it didn't work and she just made up that she was pregnant to humiliate Flash. Though many people in the school believe the rumor at first, the attempt ultimately fails when Flash, Cadance and Celestia call her out on her lie and set up a test to prove it is false. Sunset backs down and admits her lie, but gets out of any official punishment by messaging over Canterbook that she panicked and misread her result. Despite the rumor being proved false, many people are still upset at Flash for having had sex with Sunset, but Sunset herself is just as humiliated as Flash.]]

* In ''[[Fanfic/TheHeartTrilogy Heart Of Ashes]]'', [[HotWitch Andraya]] uses this trick to frame [[VillainProtagonist Smaug]] (or "Cail Agonn" as he's known in [[HumanityEnsues his human form]]) for [[spoiler:King Wilhelm's murder]] in order to get back at him for breaking off their expired deal. [[spoiler:She enters the king's bedchamber in a maid's attire, kills him, leaves the door of the servant passage open, slices her own forehead, sinks the dagger in the king's chest, and screams for help. Pretending to be a hysteric maid, she tearfully tells the guards that "Cail Agonn" murdered the king and escaped through the servant passage, leading the guards to search for him and (unsuccessfully) attempt to arrest/kill him. It helps that "Cail Agonn" is a wanted man who recently spoke disrespectfully to the king.]]

* ''Fanfic/WhiteSheepRWBY'':
** Cinder mentions that Salem's daughters quickly realized that Salem was completely incapable of denying them anything while they were crying; it makes any attempts to punish them doomed to failure. While this did also apply to Salem's son Jaune, he never took advantage of it.
** In the story proper, Jaune invokes this on Cinder's behalf. He attacks her while in his [[OneWingedAngel Grimm form]] to keep her cover safe when Ironwood attacks their meeting with Adam in chapter 40. Adam, for his part, catches on quickly, and talks about having "lost the hostage" in earshot of Ironwood's men.

* ''Fanfic/MissingMiraculousLadybug'': In order to get [[WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug Alya]] in trouble, Lila slaps herself across the face hard enough to leave a mark, then bursts into CrocodileTears, making it seem as though the other girl attacked her.

* Henri [=LeRoi=], the new villain character in ''Fanfic/JerkInSheepsClothing'', pulls the same stunts Lila usually does in salt fics, only the targets are reversed so that he’s faking it to get ''Marinette’s'' sympathy and make ''the class'' seem like the bullies instead of the other way around, all to get her to cut ties with them and become dependent on him.
** When Ivan confronts him on his behavior, which is very gently and not at all threatening, Henri puts his hands on himself and throws himself down the stairs just as Marinette is coming over, making it look like Ivan pushed him down. When Ivan tries to defend himself, Henri fakes an ankle injury to steal back her pity.
** Kim tries to catch Henri in the act of faking by throwing a paper football at his face, prompting him to get up on his ankle and catch it. When Kim points this out, Henri claims he risked his injury to save Marinette from a paper cut on her face, earning her admiration and getting her to believe her friends are bullying him.
* ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TheGhostMap'': Holmes shoots himself in the shoulder in order to convict the DeadlyDoctor who spread the disease.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'' included a scene where [[FanNickname Cindy]] lectures the hound dog Bruno on getting along with [[CatsAreMean Lucifer]]. While her back is turned, Lucifer lies down in front of Bruno and scratches his snout, yowling when he growls. The trope is played with a bit, however. Cindy does not try to play favorites with any of the animals, insisting that they treat each other equally. After she sends the abashed Bruno outside, she angrily sets down Lucifer's saucer of milk while snapping a remark that she knows Lucifer to be a bully himself, and that he probably deserved what he "got."
** In ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'', Iago tries to trick Aladdin into letting him back into the palace by acting severally injured and claiming that he just escaped from Jafar. Naturally, Aladdin isn't fooled and attacks Iago.

* Rottytops pulls this in ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}} and the Pirate's Curse''. She pretends to have been bitten by a giant spider in order to get Shantae to carry her home, [[BatmanGambit betting that]] Shantae's ChronicHeroSyndrome wouldn't allow her to leave someone behind. It works, and Rottytops admitted it was a lot of fun, [[{{Troll}} in her own way]].
* Dr. Wily of ''VideoGame/{{Mega Man|Classic}}'' has done this a total of ''11 times'' to make sure the main character doesn't maim him, send him to jail, or flat out kill him. [[ThreeLawsCompliant Not that Mega Man can anyway, no matter how hard he's tried.]] It runs in the "family." Bass does it in ''VideoGame/MegaMan7'' to gain entry to Dr. Light's lab and steal the Super Adapter.
* The first game in the ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' series features an object lesson on this [[AllThereInTheManual in the manual]], which is treated as a copy of ''Claw Marks'', a news magazine published on-board the carrier ''TCS Tiger's Claw''. The reader learns that two fighter pilots aboard the ship, Captain R.A. Skinner and Lieutenant Larry Dibbles (a cartoonist for ''Claw Marks''), were taking part in a strike on a Kilrathi destroyer. They encountered two [[MightyGlacier Jalthi]] fighters--one adrift in space, the other with intermittent thruster power. Lieutenant Dibbles took the bait, disobeyed orders and abandoned his wingleader for easy kills. The result: two good pilots dead, no more cartoons for ''Claw Marks'', and in their place a [[JustifiedTutorial stern lecture]] by one of the resident top aces, Major James Taggart.

* In the human campaign of ''VideoGame/{{Starsiege}}'', once the Cybrids begin their war of extermination in earnest, there is a series of O-Web transmissions between Harabec Weathers and a little girl stranded on a Europan colony, Melanie, who claims to be the only survivor of a Cybrid attack. In the Cybrid campaign, it's revealed that the Cybrids got to her first, removed her brain, and installed a Cybrid infiltrator unit in its place as part of a "Siren Program" to lure human forces into traps.

* The Witch from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'': her crying can be heard long before you even come across her. However, the characters already know to stay away from her (and will warn the others when they hear one) and it's even one of the tips you can get on the loading screen.

* In the third ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' game, [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]] milks this trope for all it's worth. Thankfully, Mia Fey is not easily fooled.
** In the third case of ''VisualNovel/{{Ace Attorney Investigations|Miles Edgeworth}}'', Lance Amano, having supposedly escaped from his kidnappers, collapses in front of Edgeworth and the others investigating. [[spoiler:Not only did Lance fake his own kidnapping so he could pocket the ransom, but he is also the murderer, and manipulated his girlfriend into thinking she had shot the victim (while feigning disbelief that she could do something like that) when he was already dead]].
** Played with in ''Apollo Justice'': [[spoiler:Alita Tiala tries to get out of being accused by showing a wound she got from the case's victim, claiming that because of the attack she was unconscious when he died. He ''did'' attack her, but it's her that killed him]].
** Again in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'': after [[spoiler: Phoenix accuses Detective Bobby Fulbright of being [[BigBad the phantom]], he tries to claim that he's being blackmailed by the phantom into working for him, not the phantom himself. When he's pressed, however, he can't even decide which of his relatives is the hostage, and no one takes it seriously]].
* Sonya defeats Kano this way in the storyline of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' during a rooftop battle, pretending she's hurt to lure him close in order to grab him with her scissor kick and throw him off it.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'':
** [[spoiler:Queen Anora]] pretends to be in danger of her life in order to gain the protagonist's sympathy and force the Warden to eliminate one of her enemies. (She ''was'' locked up and in danger of losing power, but not actually in danger of dying. She just thought that sounded more likely to get a hero's help.) Depending on how events play out, she may later claim to others that ''you'' were kidnapping/threatening her, so that she can get ''their'' sympathy. '''Twice.''' [[spoiler:However, it is strongly implied Howe ''was'' planning to kill Anora and frame the Warden for it, so she may have genuinely been in danger, but just didn't know it.]]
** In dialogue, Morrigan can mention that on one of her earlier journeys out of the Korcari Wilds, a Chasind recognized her as a witch. She acted innocent and frightened, and the Fereldans looking on (who didn't understand Chasind) thought ''he'' was the mage and was trying to curse her.
* A bit downplayed here in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVIHeirTodayGoneTomorrow'': [[spoiler:Alexander acts all {{Emo}} in the Pawn Shop and pretends [[DespairEventHorizon that all hope is lost without Cassima]] while pretending to cry, and fakes suicide by drinking the "Drink Me" potion. This gambit is an effort to trick Shamir and the guard dogs into lowering their guard for entry into the castle]].
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'':
** There is a quest in Whiterun where you are asked to find a redguard woman in town ([[FridgeLogic never mind that there are several redguard women in the city and you don't get any closer description]]). When you find her, she tells you that she is chased by assassins because she said something bad about the Thalmor, and asks you to kill them. When you enter their lair, they will tell you that she lied and that they want to capture her because she ''sides'' with the Thalmor. At this point you can choose to help either of them. While you can't verify who is actually telling the truth, if you side with the assassins they actually take her alive and gives the "don't trust a pretty face" aesop, suggesting that it is actually this trope.
** While exploring the Reach, you might run into a man named [[SdrawkcabName Telrav]] lying seemingly-wounded at the side of the road, who claims to have been ransacked by bandits and left for dead. He then begs that you help escort him to his nearby camp, but of course it's all a setup and once you reach the camp, he and his bandit gang try to ambush you. Notably, if you sneak into the camp and kill off the other bandits before finding him, he won't even bother with the ruse and attack you straightaway.
* [[spoiler:Havelock]] does this in ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'''s Low Chaos ending. [[spoiler:If you make yourself known to him in the final confrontation, he will surrender peacefully and tell you where the key to the room where he's holding Emily is, while also claiming he will let Corvo have him arrested if he so chooses. If you take him up on his offer, [[ISurrenderSuckers he'll reveal his "surrender" was a ruse]] and attacks you. Cue FinalBattle.]]

* ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' features a version where a woman on the street is covered in blood and cries out for help against assailants. If your mental stats are high enough, her story and disguise unravel. If they are not, or you go along with her anyway, her allies try robbing you in an alley. MuggingTheMonster ensues.
* In ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'', distress beacons will sometimes be pirates who pretend to be in trouble just so they can lure you in and attack you. You should still try to go to every beacon you can, since if it's a genuine distress signal, you'll get a nice reward for helping (some Scrap, some fuel, maybe even a new weapon), and if it's a trap, killing the pirate who set the trap will still get you some Scrap.
* This was a ''strategy'' in single-player ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} III''. If a civilization was an aggressor in war, it suffered a penalty in diplomacy (the idea being that an aggressor can't be trusted). However, the AI was generally [[ArtificialStupidity too stupid]] to distinguish between a provoked and unprovoked declaration of war--the only issue that mattered to the AI was which civilization declared war, not ''why'' the civ did so. So a smart player could provoke an AI civilization they wanted to beat up into declaring war by making unauthorized incursions into the AI civ's territory--and, when the AI civ justifiably declared war, suffer no penalty in diplomacy. This was particularly amplified once gameplay reached the Industrial Age, when Mutual Defense Pacts became available--with a pact, you could ally yourself with the neighbor of whichever civ you wanted to fight, provoke the civ into declaring war on you, and then--because your enemy had declared war on you and not the other way around--your allied neighbor civ would automatically declare war on your target. All of a sudden, your target is fighting a two-front war (and we all know [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII how those turn out]]), and as long as you leave enough scraps to keep your ally satisfied and haven't completely underestimated your opponent, victory is all but guaranteed.
%%* Improvised by ''[[RedshirtArmy unnamed mooks]]'' in ''VideoGame/TearsToTiara2''
* In ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters: KYO'', this is how [[spoiler: Chris]] manages to capture [[spoiler: Kyo's girlfriend Yuki]] while she's waiting for her boyfriend for what was supposed to be their last date before the tournament. He [[spoiler: pretends to feel ill and asks Yuki for help, and when the girl's guard is low enough he seizes her and brings her to his teammates so they can use her as a TargetedHumanSacrifice to resurrect Orochi]].
* In ''Videogame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'', Mary Read pulls one of these on some guards, so that they'll open the doors. She promptly kills them.
* In ''Videogame/TheLastOfUs'', while driving on the highway Joel and Ellie come across a man hobbling in front of them asking them to stop. While Ellie's all for helping him out, Joel sees right through it and tries to run him down, causing the man to drop the act and pull out a gun. Joel later states that he's been on both sides of that trick.
* ''Videogame/{{Firefall}}'': Most of the time, that wounded bandit who is begging for mercy will ask for medicine in exchange for crystite, only to reveal that the medical supplies are a ''homing beacon''. Cue "Big Brother", the dreadnaught with a rocket launcher. Then the little guy will pretend he's sad about the death of his "big brother" and give you co-ordinates and a key to a loot crate -- which may or may not work. Occasionally, it really is medical supplies and the wounded bandit will give you the map and key out of gratitude... or to make you look the other way while he runs.
-->'''Wounded Bandit:''' Guess what? We're going to rob you!\\
'''Big Brother:''' Guess what? We're cannibals!
* ''Videogame/CantrII'': Another tactic, guaranteed to get sympathy. Or encourage the more ..... [[AxCrazy violent members]] of the community to try and pull a Series/{{Dexter}}. Or ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs''. Or ''Film/{{Psycho}}''. Hell, pick a serial killer trope, and we've got/had some iteration of it.
* Occasionally in ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage'', hitting certain Electras (a female whip-using enemy) will cause her to scream and drop to her knees, no longer attacking you. Turning your back on her at this point, or just leaving her alone for long enough, will make her get right back up to try and catch you by surprise.
* In ''Videogame/RedDeadRedemption'', there are optional escort missions involving helping civilians in need, in the neighborhood of 'Can you give me a ride to [place]?'. Sometimes these civilians are actually bandits and they are indistinguishable from the real deal until either the guns come out or they make a run to steal your horse.
* ''VideoGame/{{Skyforge}}'' has [[spoiler: the LoveGoddess Thais deliberately provoke Sea God Protheus when he's trying to tell the player about her secret plots - when he lashes out at her, she sports a SmugSmirk as the player takes up arms against him]].
* In the ''VideoGame/FatalFrameII'' remake ''Deep Crimson Butterfly'' it's revealed that[[spoiler: Mayu fell off the cliff, permanently injuring her leg, on purpose to ensure that her twin sister Mio would feel guilty enough to never leave her.]]
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'': When Ethan first encounters Lord Moreau, he begs for Ethan not to take his flask, acting very piteously... only to laugh and reveal he's sealed off the reservoir's exits while Ethan stood and listened.

* ''WebAnimation/PuffinForest'': One of Ben's NeutralEvil characters was Trixie Starbright, a [[BitchInSheepsClothing seemingly happy-go-lucky tween who enjoyed tearing her rivals down in sadistic life-destroying schemes]]. After one of her illegal pokemon-poaching ([[TokenEvilTeammate but technically heroic]]) adventures, she diverted suspicion from her injuries by ''bashing her head on a window and breaking her arm over a barrister railing'' in order to frame her social rival of pushing her down the stairs.
--> '''GM''':... Uh, Ben? I don't think you're playing an ''average'' high-school girl, like you said.
--> '''Ben''': *chuckles* You didn't go to the same high school that I went to, did you?

* [[https://www.eldercactus.com/organized-crime-is-evolving This]] comic features a mob hitman who uses this as his ''modus operandi'', screaming about an unspecified injury to...his butthole to lure his target closer for a BoomHeadshot. This has apparently worked for him ''47 times'' before with no signs of stopping.

* ''[[WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay Super Best Friends Play]]'': In one version of the ''Rustlemania 2: Superbrawl Saturday III'' opening, Woolie and Matt are in a match. While Pat distracts the ref, Woolie tosses Matt a folding chair and takes a dive. Matt looks at in confusion as the ref [[NotWhatItLooksLike turns back around and looks at him]].
* In ''Literature/{{Twig}}'', Sylvester uses the [[AgonyBeam pain bullets]] used by the rebels against warbeasts to invoke sympathy from his enemies by being a screaming, injured thirteen-year-old. This is enough to overcome the fact that the rebels have been ordered to shoot suspicious children on sight.
* In the ''Search and Rescue'' CreepyPasta series, the protagonist hears a crying child, and goes to investigate. He then [[SpottingTheThread notices something wrong]]: the "crying" is the same sound over and over again, like a song on repeat. He wisely nopes out of there.

* Characters/{{Puffin Forest}}'s character Trixie Starbright does this. The DM has no idea what's going on, as Trixie is a schoolgirl.

* A 40's ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' features a short one: A low-level crook fires a bullet through his own hat (which he's holding in his hand), while yelling "Drop it, Wayne!" He proceeds to put the hat back on and tosses the gun to Bruce Wayne, [[WhatAnIdiot who catches it]]. The police barge in and see Bruce Wayne with a smoking gun in his hand, and a hole in a bystander's hat.

** Jimmy Marks aka Hybrid tricked the Comicbook/XMen into attacking Rom by blowing up his house and shapeshifting back into his human child form and blaming the death and destruction on Rom. Since Rom looked like a seven foot tall murder machine and Jimmy looked like a helpless child, the X-Men were easily duped. Fortunately, Hybrid got overconfident and revealed himself when he tried to kidnap Kitty Pryde during the battle.

* In the beginning of ''ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHearts'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} throws villain Shyla Kor-Onn back into the PhantomZone to defend herself. Shyla gets released from the Zone later in the story, and exploiting the fact that Kara was not legally authorized to imprison her, she claims the Girl of Steel sent her back into the prison-dimension because she was just jealous of the presence of another Kryptonian female on Earth.

* Inverted and then triple-subverted in one ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' strip. Garfield sees Jon lavishing attention on the cute kitten Nermal and becomes envious. He walks up to Nermal and--with Jon's eyes upon him--[[KickTheDog deliberately kicks the little guy over]] in the hope that Jon will become angry with him. He is disgusted when Jon simply takes pity on Nermal and completely ignores what Garfield did. Figuring that "two can play the sympathy game," Garfield takes up a plate of fine china and smashes it against his head, then "falls down unconscious" in an attempt to make Jon feel sorry for him. Instead, Jon scolds Garfield for breaking one of his most valuable plates--and, even worse for Garfield, it turns out that [[GoneHorriblyRight the plate-breaking really]] ''[[GoneHorriblyRight did]]'' [[GoneHorriblyRight hurt him, giving him a colossal headache]]!
* In a ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' strip from 1952, Charlie Brown is minding his own business and playing with a toy truck, when Lucy runs past him, yelling at him not to attack her. Patty overhears and threatens to beat Charlie Brown up, so Charlie Brown tells Lucy to stay away from him. Lucy gets upset, and when Charlie Brown tries apologize to her, [[HereWeGoAgain Lucy yells at Charlie Brown not to attack her again]].

** Also used {{Squick}}-tacularly in the story "Daddy's Girl". A young woman, complaining of being abused by her father, convinces her boyfriend to kill him. [[spoiler:Except that the gun she gives him is loaded with duds, and he's been set up to get beaten to death by the dad. And he's not the first guy she's done this to. Why? Because her father gets off on this, and she's [[ParentalIncest daddy's girl.]]]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheWuzzles'': In Walt Disney Comics no. 512, Croc gains sympathy from Butterbear by pulling up a board and pretending to have been injured. It works on her account, although Bumblelion overhears his plan and makes sure his stay is not a pleasant one. His plot? [[spoiler:Well, his roof leaks and he was seeking shelter from a fruit salad storm. That's right, a fruit salad storm. Unconventional weather the land of Wuzz has, no?]]

* This trope forms the backbone of the DC Comics miniseries ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis''. When ComicBook/ElongatedMan's wife Sue is murdered, it looks like an isolated incident; until Jean Loring, ex-wife of Comicbook/TheAtom, is nearly killed as well. It seems someone is murdering the spouses of superheroes, and the hero community comes together to try to figure out which super villain might be behind it. Except, of course, that it's not a super villain; it's Jean, who staged her own attempted murder to both throw suspicion off herself, and to send the heroes on a wild goose chase by making Sue's murder look like part of a larger series of killings. And, in keeping with the scenario at the top of the page, it turns out she did it all to get a man's attention.

* After massacring a presidential candidate, his family, and ''an entire room'' of armed security, staffers, aides, and journalists during her "field test" for the Facility, ComicBook/{{X 23}}'s exit strategy was to masquerade as the badly wounded, sole-surviving victim of an attack she herself carried out. She successfully duped ''Comicbook/CaptainAmerica''.

* Barry, TheScrappy little brother in ''ComicStrip/{{Curtis}}'', shows how it's done [[http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20100205&name=Curtis here.]]
** He even manages to do it ''by accident'' [[http://joshreads.com/images/15/07/i150726curtis.jpg on one occasion.]]

* Franchise/{{Pokemon}}:

** The moves Growl, Tail Whip, and Charm are also centered on this.

* In VideoGame/AmongUs, If you're an Impostor, you can pull this off by reporting your own kill, but [[HoistByHisOwnPetard it can backfire easily if you do it at the start of the match or do it in front of someone]].

* In the ''VideoGame/FatalFrameII'' remake ''Deep Crimson Butterfly'' it's revealed that Mayu fell off the cliff, permanently injuring her leg, on purpose to ensure that her twin sister Mio would feel guilty enough to never leave her.

* The 1974 Firecracker 400[[note]]now [[ProductPlacement Coke Zero 400]][[/note]] (the summer race at Daytona) featured a climax where defending Winston Cup champion David Pearson, shortly after crossing the start[=/=]finish line on the final lap, began pulling onto the apron as if he blew an engine. This led to [[TheAce Richard Petty]] momentarily taking the lead only for Pearson to catch up to Petty, ultimately slingshotting his way ahead of Petty on Turn Four [[http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1974-16&series=W for the win]]. Interestingly enough, Pearson and Petty were good friends when they were not racing, so you'd excpect a gambit to strain their friendship. Not exactly. All that happened it that Petty swore at Pearson....then offered to buy him a beer!

Can cover anything from a lame excuse to MaliciousSlander. For a slandered party, it often precludes ICanExplain, and can lead to PoorCommunicationKills. Can overlap with ISurrenderSuckers. If you're a member of a minority, EverythingIsRacist is a convenient way to invoke this trope. When done against police, it's often a PoliceBrutalityGambit. When done on a large scale, it's often a FalseFlagOperation. FalseRapeAccusation is a very specific subtrope of this. If the target is actually guilty, see FramingTheGuiltyParty. The BullyHunter and WifeBasherBasher easily fall for this trick. The HeroWithBadPublicity also tend to get their reputation from these.

Can cover anything from a lame excuse to MaliciousSlander. For a slandered party, it often precludes ICanExplain, and can lead to PoorCommunicationKills. Can overlap with ISurrenderSuckers. If you're a member of a minority, EverythingIsRacist is a convenient way to invoke this trope. When done against police, it's often a PoliceBrutalityGambit. When done on a large scale, it's often a FalseFlagOperation. FalseRapeAccusation is a very specific subtrope of this. If the target is actually guilty, see FrameTheGuilyyParty. The BullyHunter and WifeBasherBasher easily fall for this trick. The HeroWithBadPublicity also tend to get their reputation from these.

Can cover anything from a lame excuse to MaliciousSlander. For a slandered party, it often precludes ICanExplain, and can lead to PoorCommunicationKills. Can overlap with ISurrenderSuckers. If you're a member of a minority, EverythingIsRacist is a convenient way to invoke this trope. When done against police, it's often a PoliceBrutalityGambit. When done on a large scale, it's often a FalseFlagOperation. FalseRapeAccusation is a very specific subtrope of this. The BullyHunter and WifeBasherBasher easily fall for this trick. The HeroWithBadPublicity also tend to get their reputation from these.

* Henri [=LeRoi=], the new villain character in ''Fanfic/JerkInSheepsClothing'', pulls the same stunts Lila usually does in salt fics, only the targets are reversed so that he’s fakin* it to her ''Marinette’s'' sympathy and make ''the class'' seem like the bullies instead of the other way around, all to get her to cut ties with them and become dependent on him.

** When Ivan confronts him on his behavior, which is very gently and not at all threatening, Henri puts his hands on himself and throws himself down the stairs just as Marinette is coming over, making it look like Ivan pushed him down. When Ivan tries to defend himself, Henri fakes an ankle injury to steal back her pity.
** Kim tries to catch Henri in the act of faking by throwing a paper football at his face, prompting him to get up on his ankle and catch it. When Kim points this out, Henri claims he risked his injury to save Marinette from a paper cut on her face, earning her admiration and getting her to believe her friends are bullying him.

** When Ivan confronts him on his behavior, which is very gently and not at all threatening, Henri puts his hands on himself and throws himself down the stairs just as Marinette is coming over, making it look like Ivan pushed him down. When Ivan tries to defend himself, Henri fakes an ankle injury to steal back her pity.
** Kim tries to catch Henri in the act of faking by throwing a paper football at his face, prompting him to get up on his ankle and catch it. When Kim points this out, Henri claims he risked his injury to save Marinette from a paper cut on her face, earning her admiration and getting her to believe her friends are bullying him.

* Henri LeRoi, the new villain character in ''Fanfic/JerkInSheepsClothing'', pulls the same stunts Lila usually does in salt fics, only the targets are reversed so that he’s fakin* it to her ''Marinette’s'' sympathy and make ''the class'' seem like the bullies instead of the other way around, all to get her to cut ties with them and become dependent on him.
** When Ivan confronts him on his behavior, which is very gently and not at all threatening, Henri puts his hands on himself and throws himself down the stairs just as Marinette is coming over, making it look like Ivan pushed him down. When Ivan tries to defend himself, Henri fakes an ankle injury to steal back her pity.
** Kim tries to catch Henri in the act of faking by throwing a paper football at his face, prompting him to get up on his ankle and catch it. When Kim points this out, Henri claims he risked his injury to save Marinette from a paper cut on her face, earning her admiration and getting her to believe her friends are bullying him.